Method and device for monitoring the readying of spinning cops for unwinding the same

ABSTRACT

Method of monitoring the readying of hollow core spinning cops for unwinding the same includes seizing an end of a thread located outside a respective spinning cop on which the thread is wound, and feeding the thread end to a measuring device for monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread before inserting the thread end into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core; and device for carrying out the method.

United States Patent 1 Raasch METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MONITORING THE READYING OF SPINNING COPS FOR UNW INDING THE SAME Inventor:

Hans Raasch, Rheydt, Germany Schlafhorst & Co., Monchengladbach, Germany Filed: May 14, 1971 Appl. No.: 143,486

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data May 16, 1970 Germany P 20 24 110.5

US. Cl. 242/35.6 R, 242/35.5 R Int. Cl B65h 54/00, B65h 54/22 Field of Search 242/35.6 R, 35.6 E,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,279,712 l0/l'966 Furs! 242/3S.5 R

iiiiliu Iiiilill 1 July 24, 1973 3,295,775 1/1967 Raasch et al 242/35.5 R 3,380,677, 4/1968 Stapfer 242l35.5 R 3,458,912 8/1969 Werffeli 242/35.6 R

Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Attorney-Curt M. Avery, Arthur E. Wilfond and Herbert L. Lerner [57] ABSTRACT Method of monitoring the readying of hollow core spinning cops for unwinding the same includes seizing an end of a thread located outside a respective spinning cop on which the thread is wound, and feeding the thread end to a measuring device for monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread before inserting the thread end into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core; and device for carrying out the method.

-ll Claims, SDI-swing Figures Pmmiwm 3.747. 862

FIG]

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MONITORING THE READYING OF SPINNING COPS FOR UNWINDING THE SAME The invention relates to method and device for monitoring the readying of hollow core spinning cops preparatory to subjecting them to an unwinding operation and more particularly to such method wherein a thread starting end located outside the spinning cop is seized and inserted into the hollow core thereof, and device for carrying out such method.

In making ready for the operation of unwinding hollow core spinning cops, it has become known, for example, from the Swiss Pat. No. 411,653, to seize a thread starting end located outside the respective spinning cop and to insert it into the hollow interior of the cop. In this connection, it is possible, on the one hand,

that the thread starting end is not seized or gripped properly and is consequently not actually inserted into the bore of the spinning cop or, on the other hand, that several thread windings, due to faulty winding formation on the cop, are loosened when the thread starting end is seized, so that they are simultaneously drawn off with the thread starting endand inserted into the bore of the cop core. In the latter instance, it is possible that, when the thread starting end is thereafter being removed from the hollow interior of the cop core, loops will be formed in the thread and several sections of the thread will consequently beintroduced simultaneously into a knotting device, resulting in the formation of faulty knots, or actually, in the jamming of the knotting device.

In devices which ready the spinning cops for the unwinding operation by previously making the thread starting end ready by winding a reserve winding such as a tip bunch or foot bunch at a corresponding end of the cop core, the effectiveness of the readying operation can be monitored by checking or controlling the tip or foot bunch,,respectively. When the thread starting end is located within the hollow interior of. the cop core, however, control of the effectiveness of the readying operation is not possible. I

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide method and device for monitoring the readying of spinning cops for unwinding the same even when the thread starting end is being readied within the hollow interior of the cop core.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with my invention, method of monitoring the readying of hollow-core spinning cops for unwinding the same, which comprises seizing an end of a thread located outside a respective spinning cop on which the thread is wound, and feeding the thread end to a measuring device for monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread such as the cross section or unit volume thereof, before inserting the thread end into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core.

In contrast to the heretofore known monitoring device, the invention of the instant application is not concerned with monitoring the thread to determine whether or not it has been properly made ready, but rather to determine if a proper readying of the starting end of the thread is possible. In the method of the invention of this application and by means of the measuring device of the invention, it can be established, on the one hand, whether or not the thread end is located in ready position for insertion into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core, and it can be determined moreover, on the other hand, if either one or more thread sections or lengths are in make-ready position. Since experience has shown that the thread directed or guided in front of the bore of the spinning cop core is also inserted with adequate reliability into the hollow core of the cop, adequate reliability for all practical purposes is therefore attained in this manner for monitoring the ready-making of the spinning cop.

In accordance with the device of the invention for carrying out the foregoing method, there is provided measuring means for monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread whose end is to be inserted into the hollow interior of the cop core on which the thread is wound, means for disposing the measuring means and the cop core relative to each other, so that the end of the cop core into which the thread end is to be inserted is located in front of the measuring means, and a sorting device for the readied cops operatively connected to the measuring means so as to be controlled thereby.

In accordance with other features of the invention, the measuring means, preferably of the photoelectric or capacitive types, has an output which is connected to an input of an amplifier so that the output signal of the measuring means forms the input signal to the amplifier. The output signal of the amplifier, in turn, serves for controlling the sorting device depending upon whether it falls below or exceeds a predetermined range of nominal values.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the amplifier has a digital and an analog output, means for delivering an output signal to the digital output corresponding to the presence or absence of a thread for insertion into the respective hollow cop core, and means for delivering an output signal to the analog outputcorresponding to the numberof thread lengths present for insertion into the hollow cop core.

In accordance'with yet another feature of the device of the invention, there are provided means for trans-- forming the analog output signal of the amplifier into a digital signal when the analog output signal exceeds a predetermined limiting value, preferably by means of a threshold limit switch.

Thus, the aforementioned device can, on the one hand, monitor whether or not a thread has been fed into the hollow cop core and, on the other hand, also control the feeding of several thread sections or lengths into the core. Depending upon the construction of the e herein as method and device for monitoring the readying of spinning cops for unwinding the same, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a conventional thread winding machine installation having a spinning cop readying device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a much enlarged side elevational view of the spinning cop readying device shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram for operating the spinning cop readying device.

Referring now to the drawing, and first particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown therein, a support frame 1 carrying an inclined table 2 on which there is seated a receptacle 3, 4, for discharging in a conventional manner, spinning cops that are to be made ready for unwinding in accordance with the invention of this application. In the right-hand side of the table 2, as shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a shaft or slide 5, by means of which spinning cops discharging from the base of the receptacle 4 are fed to the cop readying device of the invention, generally shown at 6. Thereat, a starting end of the thread wound on the cop K, which has been disposed on two rotatable rollers 61 and 62 by suitable conventional feeding mechanism associated with the cop storage receptacle 3,4, is inserted into the hollow interior 209 (FIG. 2) of the core of the cop K. Thereafter, the spinning cop K is passed to a conventional conveyor chain or belt 7 which accordingly delivers it in a known manner, to the individual winding stations of the winding machine.

As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, the spinning cop readying device 6 has a nozzle 160 formed with an elongated slot extending along the cop K from the foot to the tip thereof. A pivotable tube member 218 is located at the side of the slotted nozzle 160 at which the foot of the cop K is disposed. The tube member 218 and the elongated slotted nozzle 160 are connected to a suction channel 201 which is in turn connected to a non-illustrated suction source. Under the action of an air suction current in the channel 201, the thread starting end from the cop foot or the periphery of the cop is withdrawn or unwound from the cop as the rollers 61 and 62 (FIG. 1) rotate simultaneously, and assumes the position shown in FIG. 2 by means of a gripping hook 204 located at the end of a pivotable arm 203. Due to the suction air current flowing through the bore 209 of the cop core into the tube member 218, the thread is then sucked into the core bore 209, after the thread end leading from the gripper hook 204 into the suction channel 160 has been severed by a severing device such as the shears 210. As described up to this point, the device is substantially like the aforementioned device of the Swiss Pat. No. 411,653.

A measuring member 501 for monitoring a geometric magnitude, such as the cross section or the volume, for example, of the thread to be inserted, is located at the end 209' of the core bore taking up the thread end, so that the gripper hook 204 pulls the thread as shown into the measuring span or stretch. The measuring member 501 is connected to an electromagnet 503 (FIG. 1) which, when electrically excited, acts against the force of a compression spring 504 upon a bellcrank or double-arm lever 502 pivotally mounted at 5020 on the support structure for the conveyor chain and below the conveyor chain 7 proper. The upper arm of the lever 502, as shown in FIG. 1, is located in the vicinity of the closure flap 39 of the conveyor chain 7 so that it opens the closure flap 39 when the upper arm ofthe lever 502 pivots in clockwise direction due to the action of the excited electromagnet 503, i.e. when the armature thereof is thrust against the lower arm of the lever 502 as shown in FIG. 1. When the closure flap 39 is thus opened, a spinning cop located thereabove in the conveyor chain 7 then slides downwardly into a receptacle 499. This movement of the lever 502 is released by the electromagnet 503 whenever the measuring member 501 determines that either no thread or an undue plurality of thread sections or lengths have been placed in front of the end 209' of the core bore.

The system shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3 provides, in accordance with the invention, a preferred means for controlling the magnet 503 by the measuring member 501. The system of FIG. 3 has a measuring span or length encompassed by a lamp or light source 505, located at the left-hand side of the figure, a pair of optical lenses 506 and 507, as well as a light-sensitive element 508. Whenever a thread is disposed within the region between the lenses 506 and 507, the shadow thereof produces a change in the current generated in the photosensitive element 508 which is fed as input signal to an amplifier 509. The amplifier 509 has two outputs 510 and 511 which respectively deliver an analog signal and a digital signal.

The output 510 of the amplifier 509 which feeds the analog signal is connected to a threshold value switch 512 having a threshold value which is adjustable by means of a variable resistance 513 connected in parallel therewith. If the analog signal exceeds the set threshold value, it is thus transformed into a digital signal at the output 514 of the threshold value switch 512. If the analog signal at the amplifier output 510 is lower than the set threshold value, a signal having zero value (O-signal) is produced at the output 514 of the threshold value switch 512.

The digital signal at the output 511 of the amplifier 509 has a value of 0 when no thread is present between the lenses 506 and 507, and has a value of I when a thread is located therebetween. Through the NOT-gate 515 connected to the .output 511, the value of the signal at the amplifier output 511 is reversed so that a zero or 0-signal is produced at the output 516 of the NOT- gate 515 when the thread is disposed in the measuring span or stretch i.e. between the lenses 506 and 507.

Both the output 514 of the threshold value switch 512 as well as the output 516 of the NOT-gate 515 are connected to two inputs, respectively, of a NOR-gate 517. The NOR-gate 517 has an output 518 at which, therefore, only a signal having a value of one (l-signal) is produced when, on the one hand, a thread is inserted in the measuring span or between the lenses 506 and 507, and on the other hand, the shadow of this thread does not exceed the threshold value of the threshold value switch 512 which was set by the variable resistance 513.

The output 518 of the NOR-gate 517 is connected to a storage 519. When a l-signal appears at the output 518 of the NOR-gate 517, a signal set in thestorage 519 is canceled, so that a 0-signal appears at the output 520 when the storage 519 is queried by an interrogation switch 521. Consequently, the coil of the electromagnet 503 remains currentless, and the spinning cop remains in the conveyor chain 7. The interrogation switch 521 is actuated by the conveyor chain 7 when the closure flap or blocking lever 39 for the spinning cop being monitored is located above the lever 502.

If the interrogation switch 521 is again opened, a setting switch 523 also actuable by the conveyor chain 7 is closed and produces momentarily a signal at the setting input 522 to the storage 519. A l-signal is thereby produced at the output 520 of the storage 519. If, in the case of the next-spinning cop that is monitored, no thread is inserted in the measuring span or if several thread sections or lengths are simultaneously disposed therein so that the threshold value of the threshold value switch 512 is exceeded, a l-signal appears either at the output 516 or at the output 514. However, the necessity of canceling the signal set in the storage 519 is not met thereby. The storage 519 remains set so that, upon actuation of the interrogation switch 521, the 1- signal produced at the output 520 energizes the electromagnet' 503 whereby the spinning cop is released from the conveyor chain 7 and is ejected into the receptacle 499.

As noted hereinbefore, the aforedescribed and illustrated embodiment of the monitoring device of the invention can have various different forms. In this regard, it should be'noted, for example, that for the aforedescribed operation, the threshold value of the threshold value switch 512 must be readjusted for virtually every change in thread thickness, In many cases, it is however not absolutely necessary to remove from the conveyor chain 7 all of those spinning cops, in the core bores 209 of which more than one thread section or length are inserted. When one realizes that many loops can be loosened upon the removal of the threads from the hollow interior of thecop core, and, under certain conditions, knotted multiple threads can be eliminated by a socalled knot tester after performing the knotting operation, only an excessive accumulation of the thread sections or lengths which can cause blockage of the knotting device, for example, need be monitored. If, for example, the'processing of yarns having a medium thickness is involved, two or three simultaneously inserted thread sections for further processing under the aforementioned prerequisites can thus still be permissible because they do'not cause any blockage of the knotting device or release the loops when the threads are removed from the hollow interior 209 of the cop core. It can then be sufficient toadjust the threshold value of the threshold value switch 512 by means of the variable resistance 513 to such a value that only the surpassing of the limit value producing a disruption or obstruction causes the spinning cop to be ejected. In this manner there is provided a greater nominal value range which dispenses with the necessity for repeatedly regulating the variable resistance 513 even for a change in the thickness of the threads wound on the spinning cop.

I claim: 7

t 1. Method of monitoring the readying of hollow-core spinning cops for unwinding the same, which comprises seizing an end of a thread located outside a respective spinning cop on which the thread is wound, feeding the thread end to a measuring device, monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread in the measuring device and subsequently inserting the thread end into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core.

2. Method according to claim 1 which includes measuring the cross section of the thread and comparing it with a given nominal value before inserting the thread end into the hollow core.

3. Method according to claim 1 which includes measuring the unit volume of the thread and comparing it with a given nominal value before inserting the thread into the hollow core.

4. Device for monitoring the readying of hollow core spinning cops for unwinding the same, comprising measuring means for monitoring a geometric magnitude of a thread whose end is to be inserted into the hollow interior of a spinning cop core on which the thread is wound, means for disposing said measuring means and the spinning cop core relative to each other so that the end of the cop core, into which the thread end is to be inserted, is located in front of said measuring means, means for inserting the thread into the cop core, a sorting device for the readied cops, and means responsive to said measuring means and operatively connected to said sorting device for ejecting therefrom a spinning cop having a thread with an abnormal geometric magnitude.

5. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means is a device for measuring the cross section of the thread. I

6. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means is adevice for measuring the unit volume of the thread.

7. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means has an output connected to an input of an amplifier so that an output signal of said measuring means forms the input signal to said amplifier, said amplifier having an output operatively connected to said sorting device for controlling the latter in dependence upon the value of an amplifier output signal being less than and greater than a predetermined range of nominal values.

8. Device according to claim 7 wherein said amplifier has a digital output and an analog output, means for delivering an output signal to said digital output corresponding relatively to the presence and absence of a thread for insertion into the respective hollow cop core, and means for delivering an output signal to the analog output corresponding to the number of thread lengths present for insertion into the hollow cop core.

9. Device according to claim 8 including means connected to said analog output for transforming the analog output signal of said amplifier into a digital signal when the analog output signal exceeds a predetermined limiting value.

10. Device according to claim 9 wherein said means for transforming the analog output signal into a digital signal is a threshold limit switch.

11. Device according to claim 8 including a storage for said signals, and an interrogation switch controllable by said sorting device, said sorting device having a member for actuating the same, said storage being connectible through said interrogation switch to said actuating member. I

I i i i 

1. Method of monitoring the readying of hollow-core spinning cops for unwinding the same, which comprises seizing an end of a thread located outside a respective spinning cop on which the thread is wound, feeding the thread end to a measuring device, monitoring a geometric magnitude of the thread in the measuring device and subsequently inserting the thread end into the hollow interior of the spinning cop core.
 2. Method according to claim 1 which includes measuring the cross section of the thread and comparing it with a given nominal value before inserting the thread end into the hollow core.
 3. Method according to claim 1 which includes measuring the unit volume of the thread and comparing it with a given nominal value before inserting the thread into the hollow core.
 4. Device for monitoring the readying of hollow core spinning cops for unwinding the same, comprising measuring means for monitoring a geometric magnitude of a thread whose end is to be inserted into the hollow interior of a spinning cop core on which the thread is wound, means for disposing said measuring means and the spinning cop core relative to each other so that the end of the cop core, into which the thread end is to be inserted, is located in front of said measuring means, means for inserting the thread into the cop core, a sorting device for the readied cops, and means responsive to said measuring means and operatively connected to said sorting device for ejecting therefrom a spinning cop having a thread with an abnormal geometric magnitude.
 5. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means is a device for measuring the cross section of the thread.
 6. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means is a device for measuring the unit volume of the thread.
 7. Device according to claim 4 wherein said measuring means has an output connected to an input of an amplifier so that an output signal of said measuring means forms the input signal to said amplifier, said amplifier having an output operatively connected to said sorting device for controlling the latter in dependence upon the value of an amplifier output signal being less than and greater than a predetermined range of nominal values.
 8. Device according to claim 7 wherein said amplifier has a digital output and an analog output, means for delivering an output signal to said digital output corresponding relatively to the presence and absence of a thread for insertion into the respective hollow cop core, and means for delivering an output signal to the analog output corresponding to the number of thread lengths present for insertion into the hollow cop core.
 9. Device according to claim 8 including means connected to said analog output for transforming the analog output signal of said amplifier into a digital signal when the analog output signal exceeds a predetermined limiting value.
 10. Device according to claim 9 wherein said means for transforming the analog output signal into a digital signal is a threshold limit switch.
 11. Device according to claim 8 including a storage for said signals, and an interrogation switch controllable by said sorting device, said sorting device having a member for actuating the same, said storage being connectible through said interrogation switch to said actuating member. 